 Today is Earth Day and we hope you are outside celebrating nature on this beautiful Monday in the Bay Area. Today's observance gives us a chance to cheer the efforts of our Stanbridge students—particularly those involved with last year's student government. Over the course of last school year, student government sponsored a number of bake sales which helped raise funds for an eco-friendly water fountain/water bottle filling station (pictured). Installed last spring, the station has helped eliminate waste from more than 13,600 disposable plastic bottles so far! You can help save even more by using your reusable S'well Stanbridge Academy water bottle to fill up at our Hayden Hall water station. Didn't get your bottle yet? No problem! Annual Fund donors can pick up their bottle at the main office any time. And if you haven't made your Annual Fund donation yet this year, click here to give online or stop by the office to drop off a check and pick up your bottle all at once!
The Stanbridge Academy Spring Gala is coming up this Saturday, March 9, and we expect a full house--tickets for the event are sold out! If you purchased a ticket/tickets, look for an email confirming your reservation, which also includes information on directions to the venue, parking, check-in, and other night-of details. If you have any questions regarding your reservation, contact our Director of Advancement, Chris Myers, at 650.375.5860, ext. 607.
If you can't make the party, missed out on tickets, or simply want to support our students and program, you can still give as a gala donor. And if you're already excited about next year's gala, save the date for March 7, 2020. More details on that in due time...for now, we're excited for this Saturday night:
 For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting various aspects of what to expect at this year's Stanbridge Spring Gala—Saturday, March 9th at Domenico Winery. Still, the phrase "fundraising gala dinner" might have negative connotations for some people, so allow us to highlight a few things that this year's Stanbridge Spring Gala is not: • There will not be a rubber chicken dinner. Ugh. We've all been there. A perfectly good celebration ruined by a bland slab of flavorless meat or congealed pasta. Nothing worse than spending the dinner hour pushing peas around your plate and counting down the minutes until you can hit the In-N-Out drive thru on the way home. Which is why we're offering a full complement of delicious appetizers and entrees at this year's gala. From seafood and salads, to carved meats, eggplant parmesan, and the mashed potato bar, come hungry and leave happy!  • There will not be an endless silent auction. The Stanbridge gala is a chance to socialize and party with other attendees, not stare at tables of gift baskets and bid sheets all night long. While we will still have some great prizes that you can purchase tickets to win throughout the night—a Hawaiian timeshare; Giants box seats; a Wine Club membership; a LEGO/Maker's Faire package—we don't want guests to anxiously hover over auction items from the time you arrive. We want you to mix, mingle, have fun and dance! And speaking of dancing...  • It will not be amateur hour on the bandstand. We won't be piping-in muzak, clumsily shuffling through someone's iPod playlist, or hosting a ragtag rent-a-band that only covers 80's Billy Joel. For this year's gala—by popular demand—we're bringing back jazz vocalist Jesse Foster and his personally-selected group of ensemble musicians who have decades of combined experience playing with Grammy-winning headliners all over the world. They'll be bringing da noise and da funk, as well as da jazz, soul, pop, R&B, and groove, so bring your best moves and boogie shoes—the dance floor will be open all night.  • There will not be a long-winded boring speaker. Between band sets, our resident high school science teacher/improv comic Jay Huston will be the evening's emcee to keep things flowing and the energy up. For our post-dinner program centerpiece, we're excited to have counselor James Warren once again performing an original song, and we are especially thrilled to announce that this year's gala will feature the world premiere of our new Stanbridge video, shot on campus earlier this fall. While the fundraising portion of the evening is a critical means to support all of our Stanbridge students, the last thing we want is for someone to drone on endlessly as you slip into a food coma, so we'll keep things fun, lively, and brief so you can raise your paddles and then get back to raising the roof.  • The gala is not a SPA meeting. It's a party! Domenico's newly-renovated tasting room is even more spacious than last year (construction is done!), and we'll be hosting an open bar all night with their award-winning wines, a selection of beers, and top-shelf mixed drinks, too (not to mention soft drinks, coffee, and tea). Along with the food, drinks, and music, the evening will feature current and alumni Stanbridge parents, staff, trustees, outside donors and friends. We've designed the gala to be a fun, adults night out to socialize with the extended Stanbridge community, but also a perfect opportunity to invite your friends and neighbors to a one-of-a-kind event that celebrates the school that means so much to us. • It's not a party without you! Now that you have a better sense of what the gala is and what the gala is not, we hope you'll see for yourself and join us at the party on Saturday March 9th. Our RSVP deadline is this Friday, February 15, so time is running out to secure your seats. You can purchase tickets or make a donation online using your credit/debit card, or pay by cash or check in the main office. If you plan to attend but can't pay until later, simply complete the RSVP form on our gala webpage or complete the form in the office by Friday (payment in-full is due by March 9). If you have any gala questions, please don't hesitate to contact our Director of Advancement, Chris Myers, via email at [email protected].
In the meantime, thanks to everyone who has already purchased their ticket/tickets or made a pre-event donation. This is shaping-up to be our biggest gala ever—hope to see you there!  Funds from this year's annual Spring Gala will support the students and programs here at Stanbridge, but we'll be giving away some great prizes at this year's fundraising event as well. Donation drawing tickets will be on sale throughout the night for a chance to win an amazing collection of LEGO sets and Maker wares (for young ones), as well as an amazing collection of fine wines as part of a yearlong Wine Club membership to our host venue, Domenico Winery (for older ones). Plus, family members of all ages will enjoy a multi-night stay at a luxurious condo in Kauai. Those prizes are just a few highlights of what you could take home at this year's Stanbridge Spring Gala, March 9th from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. at Domenico Winery. Of course, there are plenty of other reasons to join us at the party—including an incredible line up of jazz musicians, and a delectable menu of drinks, appetizers, dinner, and dessert. It's a great night to support a great cause! Tickets are on sale now in the main office, or click here to purchase tickets/donate online with your credit or debit card. We hope to see you there!
 If you enjoyed the food and drinks at last year's gala, you're in for an even bigger and better treat this year. Our 2019 Spring Gala will feature a full dinner buffet that includes beef tenderloin, turkey, and eggplant involtini, plus a selection of fresh salads, an assortment of savory appetizers, delectable desserts, and—back by popular demand—the famous mashed potato bar. This year, we are also offering a fully-stocked open bar that will feature fine wines from our host winery, Domenico, as well as a variety of beers and potent potables (along with plenty of soft drinks, coffee, and tea). The event promises to be a night of hearty fare that pairs well with our live jazz band, and the even livelier mix of current and alumni parents, Stanbridge staff, trustees, and friends of the Stanbridge community. So come out to support our Bulldogs at our biggest and best fundraising gala yet--Saturday night, March 9th from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. at Domenico Winery in San Carlos. Tickets are available in the main office, or purchase tickets online by clicking here. RSVP deadline is February 15—get your tickets today!
 We are excited to once again have Jesse Foster headlining a band of Bay Area jazz all-stars at our March 9th Stanbridge Spring Gala. This year's ensemble brings back vocalist Jesse Foster, Cedricke Dennis on guitar, and Mark Lee on drums—all of whom played together at the 2018 Stanbridge Spring Gala. This year, they will be joined by Greg Sankovich on keys, and Paul Eastburn on bass. Individually, these musicians have performed with Sly Stone, Bobby McFerrin, The Manhattan Transfer, Sting, Mary Wilson, Tiffany Austin, Keb Mo, The Pointer Sisters, The UC Jazz Ensemble, and more. Together, their decades of experience span generations of jazz, funk, fusion, rock, Motown, R&B, and pop. This is an amazing opportunity to see these musicians live as they keep the groove going all night long on Saturday, March 9th--click here to get your tickets, and be sure to bring your dancing shoes!
Bonus Links (click to access):  If you are an online shopper, chances are you've heard of AmazonSmile. In short, when you shop on Amazon using the AmazonSmile portal, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to a charity of your choice. Thanks to the many Amazon shoppers supporting Stanbridge, more than $1,100 has been raised for our school through the program. That total is part of the more than $100,000,000 in donations that AmazonSmile has raised for charities all around the world, and to celebrate reaching the one-hundred-million dollar landmark this week, the company is making their charitable impact even bigger for a limited time.
Now through November 2, Amazon is raising its donation rate to a full 5% on qualifying purchases made through AmazonSmile—that's ten-times the original rate! With the holidays fast approaching, shopping now through Stanbridge's AmazonSmile portal is an great way to beat the Black Friday crowds and also support Stanbridge students and staff. If you're already an Amazon customer, simply click here to sign-in, and when prompted to select a charitable organization to support enter "Stanbridge Academy." That's it—you can then load-up your cart and 5% of the total price of your purchases will be donated to Stanbridge. Once entered, your Amazon purchases will always default to supporting Stanbridge whenever you login through the AmazonSmile portal. It's an easy, no-hassle way to give—and with the 5% donation rate in effect through Friday, it is (ahem) a Prime time to shop. |
